The past can never die, and now it's back with a vengence! These are the Gostoks: four new MOCs to represent one very old civilisation.

About this creation

The Gostoks:
The Gostoks were a species of reptilian warriors, native to the planet Racta Magna. Like the Agori, they are mostly organic and capable of biological reproduction. They had clearly defined gender roles; the women would focus on academia while the men would focus on manual labour. The women wore green armour and were defined by their large antlers, and the men wore blue armour. They were led by the Gostok Alpha, a male Gostok that would grow to large size and was distinguished by his horns; the line of Alphas was dynastic, and the selection of the Alpha was purely biological. Gostoks who were born with deformities were known as Gostok Aberrants. The Gostoks are primarily extinct with the exception of a handful.

Types of Gostoks:

Male Gostok:
The Male Gostoks were identified by their blue and silver colour scheme. They were short and broad, much faster and stronger than their female counterparts. In the winter, they would spend their time on manual labour, like farming or construction, while in the summer they went out raiding other villages.

Female Gostok:
The Female Gostoks were identified by their green and silver colour scheme. They were tall and thin, and had large antlers on their heads. They spent their time on more academic studies, and were the innovators of the civilisation.

Gostok Alpha:
For every generation, a particular male Gostok would develop into the Gostok Alpha. He would be recognised by his titan-like stature and the large horns on his head. He would be well versed in academia and politics, being very intelligent and dignified. However, he would also lead in the fighting and be the strongest of all the Gostoks. The line of Alphas would be dynastic; the son of the current Alpha would develop into the next Alpha.

Gostok Aberrant:
Every once in a while a Gostok was born deformed. The deformation usually varied for each case, though an infant Aberrant was recognised for having a darker shade of silver than normal. Most of these were killed at birth; only Gostok Gelenjof was allowed to grow to full adulthood.

“Is this what I’m doomed to become? A petty scavenger? I was a king! What a woeful end to the Gostok Race!”
-Gerikigil, the Contenders #18

Gostok Gerikigil:
Gerikigil was the Gostok Alpha who lead his race in a war with the Toa settlers on Racta Magna. He carried a large hammer and, like all Alphas, was far stronger than any normal Gostok. Though quick to anger and slightly cruel at times, Gerikigil was a dignified and benevolent ruler, taking great lengths to make sure that his people prospered. When he was resurrected by the power of the Gate thousands of years later, he fell from grace somewhat, becoming sterner and more brutish; even then though, he still maintained his sense of kingly determination and ability to give literal life and limb for his species.

Gerikigil striking the Guardian of the Gate. (Contenders #10)

Gerikigil, like all other Alphas, was born as a regular Gostok, developing his horns and growing to great stature only in adulthood. Once fully matured, the previous Alpha, his father, had died and Gerikigil succeeded him. He spent many years on the metaphorical throne (for in reality an Alpha will toil with his subjects) and became revered for his philanthropic nature. This all changed when Toa and Matoran settlers arrived on Racta Magna, which unsettled Gerikigil greatly; he disliked them setting up camp so close to Gostok villages. Though he did not orchestrate any attacks, he made no effort to stop any act of harassment on the Gostoks’ part.

Gerikigil among his fellow Gostoks. (Contenders #23)

He was soon approached by the leader of the immigrants; a Toa named Trokan politely but sternly asked him to stop the subjects from attacking the Matoran settlements. Gerikigil argued that he did not plan the attacks, and so could do nothing to stop them; this angered Trokan greatly. After many failed talks, the Toa declared war on the Gostoks. The Alpha, being a warrior king, fought in the front line and was undefeated for one hundred years. However, at one point his son Gerlo and his brother Gelenjof were abducted by Thanatos, who suspected that the Gostok race would die out and wanted to preserve some specimens. The loss of his family distracted Gerikigil and, as a result, he was killed in battle soon after.

Gerikigil fighting Toa. (Contenders #11)

Many thousands of years later, Gerikigil was resurrected by the power of the Gate, and immediately launched into battle with a Toa team known as the Contenders. He soon discovered that the war had been lost and the Gostoks had been wiped out; this naturally threw him into a frenzy, a storm that was only weathered by the arrival of the Jankori, a creature much feared in Gostok Culture. Gerikigil retreated, only to run into a being named Shadonax, who invited him into a group set on destroying the Contenders. Gerikigil did not much like working with Shadonax, as he bore the resemblance to a Toa, but resolved to kill him after the Contenders were defeated. The group fought the Toa Team in Racta Minus, but split after they were defeated.

Resurrected by the Gate. (Contenders #10)

The Alpha wandered off alone into Racta Minus, doing very little on his journey other than moping. Edoth of the Destroyer’s Three discovered the creature and took sympathy, entreating Thanatos to release his son Gerlo, his brother Gelenjof and Gerlo’s lover Gavamond; he reasoned this would inspire Gerikigil to seek out the Gate, so that Edoth could follow close behind and destroy it. He predicted correctly, but before setting out, Gerikigil took Gerlo out into Racta Minus and forced the boy to kill a Toa as a rite of passage. The group soon discovered Edoth and a group of Toa following them; they clashed, but the Gostoks were quickly overwhelmed and retreated. They headed for Racta Major, where they found the Gate; Gerikigil sacrificed his arm to revive a female Gostok, Gellesyl. They were chased off by the Gate’s Guardian before they could do much more.

Forcing his son Gerlo to kill a Toa. (Contenders #21)

The Gostoks met with a villain named Bipotron, who invited them to join the Platonic Justice, an invitation they accepted. Gerikigil supposed that the Gostoks would seize the Gate and would all give a limb to revive another Gostok- Gerikigil himself promised to sacrifice his entire body to the process. He was encouraged further by Mordath of the Destroyer’s Three to take back the Gate, under the false presumption that he had their interests in mind. The party succeeded in doing so, but Mordath prevented them from using the Gate and took the key from them, much to Gerikigil’s frustration. Soon after, the Edoth and Contenders appeared and clashed with the Platonic Justice; Gerikigil fought Edoth head on, but was decapitated by the demon.

Fighting Edoth for the last time. (Contenders #31)

It was probably for the best that Gerikigil died before seeing the Gate, along with his hopes of reviving the Gostok race, being destroyed by Mordath.

Here is Gerikigil, a fine Alpha specimen. I came up with the name Gerikigil by combining the Norse names Eerikki (Eternal King) and Egil (Respect, horror)
The back.
With his hammer and shield.
Height comparison with Raxonax and Tahu.
This is essentially the template for the Gostok Alpha; they pretty much all look like this, with the variation of eye colour, weapon and shoulder armour.
For example, this is what Gostok Gerlo would have looked like if he had fully developed into an Alpha.
Here's what another random Alpha might have looked like.

“The moment you aided a Toa was the moment you stopped being a Gostok!”
-Gelenjof to Gellesyl, the Contenders #43

Gostok Gelenjof:
Gelenjof was a Gostok aberrant, a deformed member of his species, and was the brother of Gostok Alpha Gerikigil. He was a veteran of the Toa/Gostok war and bears many wounds, indexed by his prosthetic blade arm and eye-patch; the war also embedded in him a deep hatred of Toa and their sympathisers. Gelenjof was a traditionalist, which put him in opposition to the Gostok youth, who were beginning to stray away from the old ideals; in spite of this, Gelenjof fought for them with his extensive military knowledge and battle savagery.

Gelenjof’s prosthetic blade and eyepatch. (Contenders #39)

Gelenjof was born a hunchback, marking him as a Gostok aberrant. While deformed babies were typically killed, Gelenjof was spared as he was the son of a Gostok Alpha. He would not grow up to succeed his father though, as that fell to his brother Gerikigil. Gelenjof acted as his brother’s adviser and proved to be a very harsh critic; it is suspected that Gelenjof masked jealousy towards Gerikigil, though one cannot be sure. Once the Matoran settlers arrived on Racta Magna and war broke out, Gelenjof excitedly raced into action, all too happy to release his anger upon the Toa. Given his berserk battle style, he earned his fair share of injuries, particularly the loss of his left eye and right arm, though ultimately he came out alive. At the end of the war, Gelenjof and a few others were taken away by Thanatos to be preserved as specimens for their species.

Gelenjof and Gerikigil. (Contenders #18)

Many thousands of years later, the God of Death would be asked by one of his minions, Edoth, to free the Gostoks in order to aid him in his search for the Gate, a device that could resurrect the dead. Gelenjof and the others met with Gerikigil, who had been resurrected by the Gate; he informed them that the Gostoks had lost the war and were driven to extinction, but suggested that they could use the Gate to repopulate the species. The group excitedly set off in search of the Gate, while Edoth stalked them with the help of a Toa team named the Contenders. The Gostoks briefly clashed with the Toa during their travels, but quickly retreated after the battle went south. Eventually the Gostoks would find the Gate, and Gerikigil revived one Gostok by sacrificing his left arm. Before they could revive more however, they were chased off by the titanic Guardian of the Gate.

Fighting the Guardian of the Gate. (Contenders #26)

It was here that the Gostoks became involved in the Platonic Justice, a collective of villains seeking to take down the city of Racta Major, where the Toa resided; Gelenjof complained that this delayed their ultimate goal to seek the Gate, though he was still happy to undermine the Toa. This caught the attention of Mordath, another servant of Thanatos, who encouraged them to go steal the Gate and bring it back; this was done thanks to the guile of Gellesyl, the Gostok who had been resurrected. When they returned with the Gate however, Mordath confiscated the key, promising to return it to them. This proved to be a lie as the Contenders attacked the camp of the Platonic Justice and the Gostoks were forced to defend it. Gerikigil was killed in the battle and Mordath destroyed the Gate; their resolve destroyed, the Gostoks abandoned the fight.

At the battle of the Platonic Justice. (Contenders #31)

The Gostoks soon recovered from this disaster with Gerikigil’s successor, Gostok Gerlo, producing two children with Gellesyl; this angered Gelenjof as at the same time, Gerlo was in a relationship with a male, the fourth member of their party Gavamond; this among other things incited a deep hatred towards the young Alpha. At this time, Racta Major was taken over by the villainous Shadebringers, and as a result the Gostoks took up residence there. Tensions arose between Gerlo and Gelenjof on account of this decision, though this was interrupted by the mysterious kidnapping of the two children. Gelenjof helped to track down Sohbec, one of the Shadebringers, for Gerlo to interrogate; this yielded no results. Their search was temporarily interrupted by the Contenders attempting to take back the city, though the Gostoks helped to quickly crush this dissent.

Facing off with Gostok Gerlo. (Contenders #44)

During this battle, Gellesyl discovered that it was in fact Shadebringer Astrok who had kidnapped their children and had mutated them into a hybrid servant at her disposal. Naturally enraged by this, she then freed one of the Contenders as an act of revenge, allowing him to escape and plot the Shadebringer’s downfall. Gelenjof, as a traditionalist, was enraged that she would ever help a Toa, and so reported her to the Shadebringers, getting her arrested. When Gerlo heard of this, he was so enraged that he struck his uncle across the face. An outraged Gelenjof forthwith challenged Gerlo to a death duel, one that the young Alpha accepted. They met the next day and fought a fierce battle; though Gerlo had strength, Gelenjof had skill, and so quickly secured the advantage.

The duel between Gerlo and Gelenjof. (Contenders #45)

Gelenjof taunted his fallen nephew, calling him a degenerate on account of his homosexuality and insulting his boyfriend; this enraged Gerlo so much that he sprung up and decapitated the old Gostok with his axe.

Here is Gelenjof! I came up with the name by combining the two Norse names Erlend (outsider) and Fritjof (peace stealer)
The back.
Posing with his sheild.
Height comparison with Takathorax and Kopaka.

“Why does no one understand that I detest killing? It’s an archaic process! As Alpha, I will employ more sophisticated solutions to problems.”
-Gerlo, the Contenders #21

Here is Gerlo; I came up with this name by combining the Norse names Erling (Nobleman's Offspring) and Elof (Forever Inheritor)
The back. Gerlo is for the most part in the form of a regular Gostok, though the horns on his head, his black hands and feet are signs that he is developing into an Alpha.
With his Battleaxe.
Height Comparison with Cilla and Gali.

Gostok Gavamond:
Gavamond is a regular male Gostok and one of four that guarded Gostok Gerlo. He carries a sword and specialises in light attacks, being very quick on his feet. Gavamond is silent and obedient; he has a high sense of honour, though he is both polite and submissive as a character, meaning that he will rarely speak up against an injustice. He is in a relationship with Gerlo, the Gostok prince who he was pledged to protect.

Gavamond lived a very standard life; he farmed and fought like many other Gostoks, though he did it in a more introverted way than the others. His efficiency was noticed by Gostok Gerikigil and he was hired to guard his son Gerlo. The two of them fell in love, and formed a relationship. The Gostok society was less homophobic (or at least on the male side) and accepted this easily, reasoning that a gay couple in the army would make an effective fighting duo. When war broke out, Gavamond was unable to fight, as he had to stay with Gerlo, who refused to fight. He had plenty of opportunities to protect Gerlo from assassination attempts and was very successful in this. Gerlo was eventually forced to fight, and Gavamond joined him in battle. Towards the end of the war, he, Gerlo and Gelenjof were taken away and put in stasis by Thanatos, who was aware that the species was going to die out and wanted to preserve some specimens.

Many thousands of years later, Edoth beseeched Thanatos to restore Gavamond, Gerlo and Gelenjof to Gerikigil, who had been resurrected by the Gate. Their reunion was at first joyous, but it was marred when Gerikigil revealed that the Gostoks had lost the war and were wiped out. However, Gerikigil told them of the Gate and promised that they would restore the species to whole again. At this point, Gavamond spent a lot of time with Gerlo, re-establishing their relationship, and helped his lover come to terms with the fact that he would have to fight and kill his foes. This warning came at the right time, for the next day the group encountered and fought Edoth and his allies, but were forced to retreat. The group left Racta Minus and headed for Racta Major, where they encountered the Guardian of the Gate, temporarily demobilised him, and offered Gerikigil’s arm to the Gate to revive Gostok Gellesyl. They planned to steal the Gate for further analysis, but the Guardian recovered and chased them away.

They then met with Bipotron, a crony of the villain named Dread, who invited them to join their revolutionary movement, the Platonic Justice; the Gostoks, seeking to exploit this relationship, agreed. As they moved into their new home, the Gostoks resolved to steal the Gate and use parts of their limbs to bring back other Gostoks. Gerikigil himself proposed to sacrifice his entire body in the process. The Gostoks were then encouraged by Mordath to set out and capture the Gate and bring it back. Once they did, the Demon Mordath took the Gate’s key from them, promising to give it to them once Dread returned. However, when he did, the Platonic Justice was attacked by the Contenders. The Gostoks fought them, but the battle ended in Gerikigil’s death and the destruction of the Gate, forcing them to retreat.

The Gostoks soon recovered from this disaster, with Gerlo and Gellesyl giving birth to two children; Gerlo felt guilt over this, though Gavamond accepted that it had to be done. When the Toa’s city, Racta Major, was conquered by the Shadebringers, the Gostoks were invited to take up residence in the city, an offer which they accepted. Slowly, the group began to grow accustomed to their new home, up until the point that Gerlo's two children were kidnapped. Gavamond helped the others to interrogate Sohbec, one of the Shadebringers, but yielded no results. Their search was temporarily interrupted by the revolt of the Contenders, one that they still helped to crush. However, Gellesyl soon learned that the children had been mutated into a monstrous servant of Makuta Astrok, one of the four Shadebringers. In an act of revenge, she went into the cell that held the Contenders and freed one of them, allowing him to escape the city.

Given the Gostoks’ hatred of Toa, reactions to this were mixed; Gavamond was confused by her actions, but supported her once her motivation was clear. Gelenjof however was so outraged that he reported her to the Shadebringers, getting her incarcerated. This caused even more strife, as Gavamond witnessed Gerlo strike Gelenjof, the latter quickly declaring a death duel and the former accepting; he did his best to dissuade Gerlo from the fight, but the young Alpha had made up his mind. Gerlo won the fight, but regretted the killing blow.

Gavamond is currently with Gerlo in Racta Minus.

Here is Gavamond! I came up with the name by blending the two Norse names Havardr (Highest Guardian) and Hammond (High Protection).
The back.
Charging with his sword.
Height comparison with Montu and Pohatu.
This is the template for regular Gostoks. They pretty much are all the same with the exclusion of eye colour and weapon choice.
Here is what one Gostok might look like, for example...
...here's another. The eyes don't have to be translucent; they can be opaque too...

All four Gostok characters together!
The Gostoks speak an archaic language which I have decided to represent using the original sixteen letter Futhark. If anyone out there knows about all of this stuff, could you please indicate me to somewhere where I can learn how the punctuation works, if it's any different from Latin? Thanks.

Quoting Makuta's Descendant -
Question, If Gostoks aren't really homophobic on the male side (since they would be an effective fighting duo), what about the female side? How did the Gostoks feel about that?

That's a good point. I can imagine them being harsher to the ladies about it, as the women are considered a higher class in Gostok society, and would have an actual reputation to keep. No one really cares about the male fighters, so they let them get away with more stuff.

Quoting Makuta's Descendant -
Well I built it but it's not like the build for a normal Gostok or Alpha but it still keeps the head design if that's okay. I guess I should just post him so you can see him for yourself.

Seen it. It's wonderful! The unique design doesn't clash here as you explained that he's an aberrant, so you're fine :p

Quoting Blizzard Scourge of the swarm
Well. We're all going to die. I quite like the designs of the first two, but on the rest I feel they were a bit more lax. Though it kind of suits this species. Overall very nice Wertman. Keep up the good work man!

Thanks! The last two are supposed to be the basic grunt type, like how if one wanted to build a standard Toa, they'd probably use the Inika build. Still, thanks for the comment! :)

Well. We're all going to die. I quite like the designs of the first two, but on the rest I feel they were a bit more lax. Though it kind of suits this species. Overall very nice Wertman. Keep up the good work man!